Nitrogen retention disorders associated with elevated ammonia levels include urea cycle disorders (UCDs) and hepatic encephalopathy (HE).
UCDs include several inherited deficiencies of enzymes or transporters necessary for the synthesis of urea from ammonia, including enzymes involved in the urea cycle. The urea cycle is depicted in FIG. 1, which also illustrates how certain ammonia-scavenging drugs act to assist in elimination of excessive ammonia. With reference to FIG. 1, N-acetyl glutamine synthetase (NAGS)-derived N-acetylglutamate binds to carbamyl phosphate synthetase (CPS), which activates CPS and results in the conversion of ammonia and bicarbonate to carbamyl phosphate. In turn, carbamyl phosphate reacts with ornithine to produce citrulline in a reaction mediated by ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC). A second molecule of waste nitrogen is incorporated into the urea cycle in the next reaction, mediated by arginosuccinate synthetase (ASS), in which citrulline is condensed with aspartic acid to form argininosuccinic acid. Argininosuccinic acid is cleaved by argininosuccinic lyase (ASL) to produce arginine and fumarate. In the final reaction of the urea cycle, arginase (ARG) cleaves arginine to produce ornithine and urea. Of the two atoms of nitrogen incorporated into urea, one originates from free ammonia (NH4+) and the other from aspartate. UCD individuals born with no meaningful residual urea synthetic capacity typically present in the first few days of life (neonatal presentation). Individuals with residual function typically present later in childhood or even in adulthood, and symptoms may be precipitated by increased dietary protein or physiological stress (e.g., intercurrent illness).
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) refers to a spectrum of neurologic signs and symptoms believed to result from hyperammonemia, which frequently occur in subjects with cirrhosis or certain other types of liver disease. Subjects with HE typically show altered mental status ranging from subtle changes to coma, features similar to subjects with UCDs.
Subjects with nitrogen retention disorders whose ammonia levels and/or symptoms are not adequately controlled by dietary restriction of protein and/or dietary supplements are generally treated with nitrogen scavenging agents such as sodium phenylbutyrate (NaPBA, approved in the United States as BUPHENYL® and in Europe as AMMONAPS®) or sodium benzoate. These are often referred to as alternate pathway drugs because they provide the body with an alternate pathway to urea for excretion of waste nitrogen (Brusilow 1980; Brusilow 1991). NaPBA is a phenylacetic acid (PAA) prodrug. Another nitrogen scavenging drug currently in development for the treatment of nitrogen retention disorders is glyceryl tri-[4-phenylbutyrate] (HPN-100), which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,979. HPN-100, which is commonly referred to as GT4P or glycerol PBA, is a prodrug of PBA and a pre-prodrug of PAA.
HPN-100 and NaPBA share the same general mechanism of action: PBA is converted to PAA via beta oxidation, and PAA is conjugated enzymatically with glutamine to form phenylacetylglutamine (PAGN), which is excreted in the urine. The structures of PBA, PAA, and PAGN are set forth below.

The clinical benefit of NaPBA and HPN-100 with regard to nitrogen retention disorders derives from the ability of PAGN to effectively replace urea as a vehicle for waste nitrogen excretion and/or to reduce the need for urea synthesis (Brusilow 1991; Brusilow 1993). Because each glutamine contains two molecules of nitrogen, the body rids itself of two waste nitrogen atoms for every molecule of PAGN excreted in the urine. Therefore, two equivalents of nitrogen are removed for each mole of PAA converted to PAGN. PAGN represents the predominant terminal metabolite, and one that is stoichiometrically related to waste nitrogen removal, a measure of efficacy in the case of nitrogen retention states. The difference between HPN-100 and NaPBA with respect to metabolism is that HPN-100 is a triglyceride and requires digestion, presumably by pancreatic lipases, to release PBA (McGuire 2010).
In contrast to NaPBA or HPN-100, sodium benzoate acts when benzoic acid is combined enzymatically with glycine to form hippuric acid. For each molecule of hippuric acid excreted in the urine, the body rids itself of one waste nitrogen atom.
Methods of determining an effective dosage of PAA prodrugs such as NaPBA or HPN-100 for a subject in need of treatment for a nitrogen retention disorder are described in WO09/1134460 and WO10/025303. Daily ammonia levels, however, may vary greatly in a subject. This can lead to overestimation by the physician of the average daily ammonia levels, which may result in overtreatment. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved methods for PAA prodrug dose determination and adjustment based on ammonia levels in subjects with nitrogen retention disorders such as UCDs or HE.